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Students Create Murals at Area Schools

By Justine Benzen
UW-RF University Communications            

DEC. 23, 2005--Art students from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls helped create murals at St. Bridget's School in River Falls, Wis., and Battle Creek Environmental Magnet Elementary School in St. Paul, Minn., during November and December.

University students who participated in the murals are enrolled in Art 251, middle and secondary art, a two-credit class taught by art Professor Lynn Jermral.

University students split into two groups; each group was then designated to work at one of the schools. The university students spent about three class periods at the schools where they taught art lessons to the middle-school students.

The St. Bridget's mural included about 30 student-artists from the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. At Battle Creek Environmental Magnet Elementary School, University students worked with about 80 sixth graders.

"This is a good opportunity for art instruction," said Lynn Jermal, professor of art.   "It is mutually beneficial."

Neither school has an art program, Jermal said, so the students really enjoyed learning art concepts and working with university students to produce creative projects.

The theme for the St. Bridget's mural was "helping hands." Jermal says the middle-school students wanted the theme to reflect serving and assisting other people.

The theme for Battle Creek Environmental Magnet Elementary School was "natural environment." The sixth grade students wanted the theme to reflect the natural environment such as flowers, plants, animals and bugs. UW-RF supplied the paints and other materials used to create the murals, however, students paid their own transportation to and from the schools.

UW-RF students who participated in the mural include:

At St. Bridget's: (Back row) Kathy Gaffer, sophomore, from New Richmond, Wis., Amanda Lindholm, sophomore, from Osceola, Wis., Katie Lindquist, junior, from Minneapolis, Minn., and Talia Zavoral, sophomore, from McFarland, Wis.

At Battle Creek Environmental Magnet Elementary School: Kristen Halberg, junior, from St. Paul, Minn., Brian Keeler, sophomore, from St. Paul, Minn., Jenny Parranto, senior, from Oakdale, Minn., and Judy Nunneley, a student who audited the course and currently is a professor at the College of Design at the University of Minnesota.

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